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Have you heard about the GGDC/UNU-WIDER Economic Transformation Database?

The new database provides crucial information on changes in the economic structure of economies across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Preliminary findings suggest a trend reversal in many developing countries towards industrialization. Read more
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How is COVID-19 changing development? A WIDER Webinar Series

Check out the upcoming WIDER Webinar Series events to hear from renowned researchers on the impact of COVID-19 on development, and the implications for the Global South. Recordings of past events available too. Click here for more details
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Development challenges in Africa in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

UNU-WIDER organized a two-day online conference on the impact of COVID-19 in Africa, recordings and presentations now available
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NEW: Domestic Revenue Mobilization (DRM) programme

The aim of UNU-WIDER’s DRM programme is to help improve developing countries’ tax systems and to strengthen their domestic capacities for revenue collection. The DRM programme is financed by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). More
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Support COVID-19 research - take the survey today

Life with Corona, a global survey tracking the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 around the world has just been released with updated questions. Take part in the survey here, and share the link with your colleagues, friends and family! Read more
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Visit our YouTube channel

Want to catch up on our recent events? Find out what Nobel laureates Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz think about the SDGs? Click here to visit us on YouTube.
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Research and policy briefs

Evidence-based policymaking is crucial. Use our publications search to browse nearly 200 briefs which highlight the findings and policy implications of our research.

6 UNU-WIDER articles, publications, projects, experts...

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Special Economic Zones
Research Brief
Special economic zones in Zambia and South Africa: Blueprint, experiences, and outcomes

East Asia’s successful experience in accelerating the process of industrial development with SEZs paved way for the use of SEZs as policy instruments in Africa...

Special Economic Zones Agglomeration Industrialization
Working Paper
Special economic zones and transnational zones as tools for Southern Africa’s growth: Lessons from international best practices

The paper evaluates strategies for developing successful special economic zones and transnational zones for Southern African countries to spur growth and employment...

Special Economic Zones Spatial industrial policy Growth
Working Paper
Special economic zones in Southern Africa: white elephants or latent drivers of growth and employment?: The case of Zambia and South Africa

The successful use of special economic zones as economic tools for export-led industrial development in East Asia propelled a wave of similar initiatives across Africa...

Special Economic Zones Agglomeration Industrialization
Research Brief
Solutions for designing better special economic zones programmes in Africa

Special economic zones (SEZ) in Africa are generally regarded as underperforming relative to their peers in the rest of the world...

Design attributes Implementation Infrastructure
Working Paper
Special economic zones in Southern Africa: Is success influenced by design attributes?

Special economic zones (SEZs) in Africa are generally regarded as underperforming relative to their peers in the rest of the world. This study focuses on the design features of the SEZ in Africa that may help explain this underperformance...

Design attributes Implementation Infrastructure
Working Paper
Industrial clusters: The case for Special Economic Zones in Africa

Firms tend to cluster in close geographic proximity to each other to benefit from reduced transport costs, shared inputs, and productivity spillovers due to learning and technology transfers...

Agglomeration Special Economic Zones Spatial industrial policy
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